Redstone Update Pre-release is out!

The long awaited and 1.5 Redstone update is finally sort-of here. The first (and likely only) pre-release has now been released on the Mojang blog and is available for download and usage. This pre-release includes every feature in the snapshots since the last official update, 1.4.7, so there’s a lot of stuff. A daylight sensor, new redstone blocks and features, a new Nether ore and more. Read on for details.

For those of you unaware of the non-official update system, here’s a quick rundown. Each week, Mojang releases a snapshot version of Minecraft with all the fresh new fixes and additions of the week. These snapshots are often a bit unstable and buggy and are therefore not suitable for the average user. On the other hand, the other version of non-official updates, the pre-releases that come out a week or so before the official update, are more stable, content complete and most users will want to check these out.

Now, the snapshots leading up to this pre-release were plenty in bugfixes and new features, so if you haven’t been following all the news, you might be confused at first. Luckily, Mojang has compiled a list of all the important changes, so here it is, straight from the Mojang blog:

Added Redstone Comparator (used in Redstone logic)

Added Hopper (collects items and moves them to containers)

Added Dropper (similar to Dispensers, but always drops the item)

Added Activator Rail (activates TNT Minecarts)

Added Daylight Sensor

Added Trapped Chest

Added Weighed Pressure Plate

Added Block of Redstone

Added Nether Brick (item)

Added Nether Quartz and ore

Added Block of Quartz, with half blocks and chiseled variants

New command: /scoreboard

New command: /effect

Containers and mobs can have custom names

Inventory management has been changed, for example you can drag-place items over slots

Texture packs now have separate images for each block and item, and can have animations

Nether Quartz Ore now spawns in the Nether

Smooth lighting now has three settings (none, minimal, maximum)

More detailed death messages

Some hostile mobs now are harder in Hard difficulty

Many, many, bug fixes

Removed Herobrine

The “many, many bug fixes” part is very true since a lot of the snapshots consisted mostly of fixes. This should be a very stable update. For now, not a lot of mods have updated to support it, but that’s one of the reasons the pre-releases exist – to give modders some time to adjust before the official update hits a week later. Nonetheless, if you haven’t been following the snapshots, this is worth downloading and checking out, even if you can’t play with your favorite mods yet.

That’s it for now, but we will keep you posted on any updates to the prerelease, and a closer look at all the features once the update officially comes out. Be sure to let us know how you liked the update, what your favorite new feature is, and gives any other feedback in the comment section below.